


Hunter and Hunted

by ScarabKnight



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Better to be safe, Blood and Injury, But when you use the word gouges to describe injury, F/M, Identity Reveal, Not Phantom Planet Compliant (Danny Phantom), Not really all that graphic, Pre-Relationship, Vlad has gone bananas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 08:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26969050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarabKnight/pseuds/ScarabKnight
Summary: "It occurred to Danny as he trudged through the snow, blood crystallising in a trail behind him, that he really ought to have seen this coming."Danny and Valerie, stuck in a blizzard and with a vengeful Vlad hunting them down.Really, was there any other way they were going to get to talk to each other again?
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Valerie Gray, Danny Fenton & Vlad Masters, Danny Fenton/Valerie Gray
Comments: 39
Kudos: 193





	1. (Not) Dying In The Snow

It occurred to Danny as he trudged through the snow, blood crystallising in a trail behind him, that he really ought to have seen this coming.

He didn’t mean to sound self-pitying, at least not too much, but he should have known _something_ would happen, just based on the last week alone. He’d never felt so light, so free, as he had since he’d brought her home. The universe didn’t ever let him have nice things for too long, at least not without making him pay some price or another.

His knee dropped into the snow drift and he chuckled weakly. OK, maybe this was too much self-pitying. He might be about to die, he should be reflecting on the best moments, right? Not the tendency of reality to drop nonsense on his head.

Danny’s hand, the one propping him up on the ground and not trying futilely to hold his blood in his chest, stung. He’d forgotten, almost, that cold was _supposed_ to feel uncomfortable. It hadn’t since the portal accident, and he just hadn’t noticed until Frostbite had spelled it out for him. There goes the hope that being in the cold would help with healing. Then again, with his powers neutralised, that was probably a futile idea anyway.

As his legs finally gave out and he collapsed into the frigid embrace of the frozen earth, face twitching as it was lashed with falling snowflakes, he thought over his life and all the good times. Fishing with his dad, where they’d be lucky to catch a thing, but it didn’t matter, they had each other, and they had the laughter. Road trips with mom and Jazz, singing whatever song came on the radio and talking space and stellar phenomenon. Movie nights with Sam and Tucker and bowling and ghost hunting and arguing and all the times they backed each other up unflinchingly, they were as much a part of his family as the rest. Not to mention getting to finally, _finally_ , live without secrets and lies, at least amongst the people he cared most about.

Barring one.

If Danny was going to let himself dwell on one regret, right now, it was never getting to explain, properly explain, to the one girl he hadn’t been able to keep from his mind for very long. Explain why things had happened how they had, who he was and how it had happened. Let himself take whatever punishment she wanted for his part in the problems of her life, if only to set her free from the obsession that drove them apart in the first place.

Alas. He’d have to hope someone would tell Valerie Gray the whole, sad story. Probably Jazz. She would know he’d want her to know everything.

His vision flickered, and he saw a splash of red in the sky above him. Of course. Not the slow, peaceful, almost painless death in the snow he had thought he was about to receive. No, this would be a short, brutal execution from the man who had wounded him to start with, if those red, red eyes were any indication-

Wait. Those weren’t eyes. They were too… square. Cubes?

“Danny?! Oh my god! What happened?!” A slightly metallic voice cried from his left, getting closer with every word said, snow crunching as heavy boots ran across it.

Danny felt strong, warm arms lift him carefully from the snow, and his eyes tried to focus on the face of the person who was, apparently, _not_ attempting to finish the job of murdering him. His eyes snapped into clarity for a brief second and he saw…

Ah.

Well, on the one hand he might not die right this second, and the spurt of immense relief and gratitude and will to not waste this second chance bolstered his fight to stay conscious. On the other, this was about to get more complicated.

Because what this really needed was more complications.

* * *

This hadn’t been what Valerie had expected.

When her ghost radar had registered that Phantom was nearby, and fighting something _powerful_ , something not on her records, she’d made her excuses at her job and taken to the air as quickly as she could. With no small amount of trepidation, for once.

Not because of the fight, she was confident in her own abilities to come out of most ghost fights unscathed, this one in particular, as she planned on siding with Phantom against whoever this other ghost was (seriously, who _was_ this, the readings were off the scale, only Phantom himself came close and even then there was a big gap). No, it was afterwards Valerie was worried about. Talking had never been her forte.

Because that was the plan – sit down with the ghost she thought was her prime target, the emblem of all her hatred of the denizens of the Ghost Zone and listen to him for once. Get his side of what had happened, everything he’d done, everything Valerie thought was justification for hunting him down like… like an _animal._ Because it had become plain to her that he _wasn’t¸_ that there were things she was missing, and she felt he had the answers. And if she had to swallow her pride and ask, then so be it.

Danielle had been the tipping point. How could she not be? A girl who was both a human and ghost, _dying_ because of Valerie’s wilful ignorance, with Phantom pleading with her to save her. A ghost, a being who was supposed to be mindless instinct and obsession, _begging_ her to help save his family. If the so-called experts were wrong about that much, how much else were they wrong about?

And then there had been Masters.

Or Plasmius. Whichever he preferred.

Valerie was _done_ being his pawn. Maybe she and Phantom couldn’t team up against him right away, she’d accept there might be a significant amount of trust building, but that was the endgame. After that? If he was as on the level as he’d claimed before, as people thought, maybe they could protect the town together. Her sleepless nights attested to her need of a partner as it was.

She shunted the thought of who she _originally_ wanted as her partner in this and other things aside. Danny wasn’t the type; he ran from every ghost attack the first chance he got. He’d be perfectly happy to help in any other way, ecstatic even, but in the end, he was too compassionate for what she thought her real job was, and she thought her work was more important. So that was that.

 _Maybe_ , she thought wistfully, _if I hadn’t broken things off, he’d have helped me realise sooner._

Contemplation later. Phantom now.

So, she had gone in search of the fight. To her eternal frustration, Phantom dropped off the radar not long after she took flight. He always did this, and she never knew how. Oh, he’d still be here _somewhere,_ he wasn’t gone, she knew that from experience, but he had this irritating ability to completely mask himself from scanners. She’d shoot him if that wasn’t something she didn’t want to do anymore.

The cube drones she sent out converged on one point quickly. They _claimed_ they tracked a faint ecto signature to this spot just outside an abandoned apartment complex, but when she took a look through their cameras remotely…

Well, that wasn’t what _she_ saw.

What she saw made her forget about everything else, and nearly break the sound barrier on her board getting there.

And here she was, armour retracted, Danny Fenton in her arms, bleeding profusely from some horrible… They looked like _gouges_ in his chest. What could _do_ that? Was this what Phantom had been fighting?

“Danny?! Danny, I need to know if you can hear me!” She called out, trying her hardest not to panic. Her worst-case scenario playing out before her and she didn’t even get to have the good parts beforehand. God, she’d never regretted anything more in that instant than not letting herself have those good times with this boy.

“… Hey, Val,” came the murmured reply. “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?”

She almost burst out laughing, only stopping herself because she could tell it would be uncontrollable and hysterical. Here he was, paler than the snow around them, barely able to talk, and he was still making god damn _jokes_. A strangled laugh did escape in spite of herself, which didn’t go unnoticed if the slight quirk of his lips could be believed.

“Never mind me, I’ve got to get you to a hospital, can you tell me wha- “

“No…” The words were vehement, if quieter than he’d probably like them. “No hospital. He… He’ll find us there.”

He _had_ been attacked by something, probably the same something that Phantom was fighting. All the old hatred resurfaced despite her resolve to bury it. If Danny… If he… If Phantom could have _stopped this_ and _didn’t-_

“Wis… Wisconsin Ghost,” he gasped out. Valerie felt her muscles tense and she tried not to grip Danny too hard.

“ _Plasmius,”_ she growled.

“ _Vlad_ Plasmius,” Danny added, his eyes open and examining her, sharper than they had any right to be in his condition.

Valerie did not miss the emphasis he put on the first name.

“… You _know?_ ” She whispered down at the boy in her arms, the boy who fled from any and all danger, the boy who professed to have no interest in his parents’ ghost hunting obsession, the boy who spent his days with his outcast friends making jokes and playing games and only worrying about the school hierarchy, and even that had petered out as she’d watched him grow past the need for popularity, at first with confusion and then with admiration.

The boy who was bloody and covered in horrible injuries and looked two steps from death and _knew Vlad Masters secret._

“Oh good,” he said faintly. “You know as well. That saves us some time…”

It was the last thing he said before his eyes closed and he lapsed into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all can blame frotesque for this one, they reminded me how much I love this pairing, second only to Danny and Ember.
> 
> If this thing breaks double digits in terms of chapters, I have goofed something fierce.


	2. (No More) Secrets And Lies

The first thing Danny noticed when he woke up was… well, that he woke up.

His experience of death was limited (much less limited than he would like), but from what little he’d coaxed out of the ghosts he was on speaking terms with, you didn’t just ‘wake up’ in the Ghost Zone on death. It was more of a process than that, one you remembered. They’d all been vague on the subject – he’d gotten the impression it wasn’t pleasant. He also doubted he’d feel the deeply painful twinges from his chest every time he breathed in were he dead. Less excruciating than before, though. Guess the Maximus doesn’t _entirely_ suppress his ghost half, the healing was starting to kick in again.

So, he was alive, and unlikely to take a sudden turn for the worse. In himself, anyway – any moment Plasmius might find him again and finish the job he’d started. Danny would put up as much of a fight as he was able, but until the power dampening effect wore off, that wasn’t much. He’d lost a lot of blood, no matter how stable he felt now – attempting to move felt like an impossibility.

The other thing he noticed was he wasn’t in a hospital bed, rather a couch somewhere. Good. Between Vlad’s mayorship and his still-presumed friendly ties with his family – severed rather dramatically recently – he would have been found there very quickly and that really would have been the end.

How had he gotten _here_ , though?

His memory suddenly flared to life, and he remembered who had found him in the snow.

Danny’s eyes snapped open and he jolted upwards, hissing with pain as he did so. His hand clutched his chest - Some of the tightness there turned out to be bandages.

“Val?” He breathed out.

“Danny! You’re awake!”

Valerie ran into his sightline, her expression radiating worry, concern… and more than a little confusion.

For a split second none of that was on Danny’s mind at all, and all he could think about was how _gorgeous_ she always managed to look to him, no matter if it was just a regular day at school or on the rare occasions he’d teamed up with her in _her_ night job. He shook it from his mind quickly – this was a bad time to get lovesick again. Especially since he’d more or less confirmed to her he was more involved in ghost activity than he’d ever let on.

Was this it? The one regret he’d really had when he was this close to having to shack up with Johnny and Kitty until he got a lair of his own was never telling her everything. Was this when he did that?

“Oh… You’re real. That wasn’t just my brain trying to give me something beautiful to look at before I passed out.”

If Danny could slap himself without fear of making his wounds worse, he would. There’s another thing to go through with Jazz now they could do so without fear of discovery – why his first instinct was always to be a wiseass, and a flirty wiseass at that. Especially since Valerie did not seem very appreciative.

“That’s it? That’s what you give me, Fenton?!” She shouted, panic and anger fighting for dominance in her tone. “I find you lying in the snow with your chest ripped open, _dying in front of me,_ and the first thing you say is… is… GAH!”

She threw up her hands in frustration and collapsed into an armchair she’d apparently dragged next to the couch he was on. She dug the heels of her palms into her eyes, wiping away the unshed tears there. Danny winced, and not just in pain.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “It just sort of… slipped out.”

Valerie didn’t reply right away, just leaned forward and hung her head, rubbing the bridge of her nose and breathing deeply. Danny took the opportunity to sit up a little straighter and take in their surroundings.

He didn’t recognise this place – it wasn’t Valerie’s apartment; he was sure of that. It was barely decorated, what little he could see of it – the couch and the armchair were about it in terms of furniture, but the only light source was coming from a fire that had been lit. He could hear the wind howling outside – the snowfall had turned into a blizzard.

“How… how long was I out?” He asked, gingerly. Valerie shrugged, still not raising her head.

“I dunno. Two hours, maybe a little more. I dragged you into the abandoned apartment complex before I got to… all _this_ ,” she replied, gesturing at the bandages. She looked at him, and only now did Danny notice how _distraught_ she looked, tear tracks down her face. He’d gotten so used to getting himself into bad situations (although even he’d admit this one was something of a doozy) he sometimes forgot how absolutely horrifying it must look like to an outside observer. And how much worse must it be for _Valerie_?

He reached out his nearest hand and rested it atop hers with some effort. “Hey. It’ll be OK.”

“How can you say that?!” She cried, yanking her hand away and looking at him incredulously.

“Trust me. In a few hours, I’ll be- “

“ _No,”_ she interrupted, visibly shifting gears, letting the Huntress out. Suspicion finally outweighing concern. “I mean _literally._ I bandaged up your chest, stopped the bleeding, got you as stable as I could without getting us both trapped in a hospital, but you shouldn’t be _up and talking._ How? _”_

He hesitated.

“… I heal pretty fast.”

OK, not a lie. Also not enough. Danny saw walls come down in her eyes and her worry turn cold as she registered how weak that was and tallied it up with all the other questions she surely must have about… at this point, probably everything. But among the first…

“Masters,” she said simply.

Danny shrugged. Or rather, his shoulders twitched upwards weakly. “Or Plasmius. Vladdy if you’re like my dad used to be and think he’s a friend. Fruitloop if you really want to annoy him. He’s probably still looking for me.”

“How do you _know?_ Why would he try to ki- go after you?”

“L… Long story. How do you? Why were you here in a snowstorm?”

Silence and a stony face, but Valerie’s eyes told a different story – Danny had had to get good at reading people to survive, and he knew Valerie, better than she thought he did. She was weighing up whether it was worth telling him about the Red Huntress, letting him in on the secret she’d broken it off with him to preserve. And there was a part of her that was wondering, he could tell, if he’d hate her for it. It was comforting, somehow, that his opinion of her mattered to her, and amusing – he was wondering the same about him being Phantom.

She was also pretty clearly thinking about beaning him in the head with something, but that was par for the course.

May as well make it easier for her.

“Would- “he started, before coughing, eliciting a flare of concern from his saviour. “Ow. Ribs. Would it help if I said you look good in red?”

OK, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t also want to see the look of surprise on her face when he sprang that one. It was worth his conscience now nagging him that he _had_ to tell her about Phantom just to be fair.

“Wh-what? You know that too?!”

He nodded and regretted it. No more sloshing around the fluid in his head, got it body, thanks.

“Always have. Wanted you to tell me instead of me dropping it on you.”

She stared back at him with wide eyes, any blockade on her thoughts and feelings gone. Complete shock and surprise and hurt on her face.

“How? When?! I thought I was careful!”

“Tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine. I promise you. Every single thing. Nothing held back.”

He meant it, too. If the last week had taught him anything, anything at all, it’s that keeping these secrets from people he cared about was a horrible weight he hadn’t realised he was carrying. How she’d react was up in the air but knowing was better for them both. He knew that now.

If Valerie had been buzzing with questions before, now she was positively _swarming_ with them, indignation, curiosity, fear swimming in her features. Hope amongst them as well but hope for what he didn’t know. He knew what _he_ hoped, but he’d given up on that idea a while ago.

Eventually she nodded, slowly.

“A few months back. I’d just got done helping someone out against Plasmius. He was going after… I’m not sure I should say. Not my secret.”

Danny smiled. He remembered how hard she’d fought for Dani. To protect someone who truly needed it, despite being related to who she despised. And he didn’t think she knew who Plasmius was. Maybe he should have trusted her then.

“I think I might know,” he croaked out. “But we’ll see when we get to me.”

She raised an eyebrow but didn’t question it. “I went back to where it all happened after. Saw Masters transform on the spot. And talk about how _gullible_ I am.” Danny really didn’t have to know how to read Val to hear the anger or see the clenched fists. “I was so… _stupid!_ I could have seen it if I wasn’t so fixated on Phantom!”

She breathed out, calming herself down. “That’s why I was here. I picked up Phantom on radar, I wanted to… talk. Share information. Maybe figure out some moves we can make against him. He might not have listened, but I wanted to try. Instead I find you, _mauled_ by Plasmius.”

“Yeah, I’ve… I’ve really ticked him off this time,” he sighed, grinning weakly, before coughing again. The grin wasn’t returned; instead, the Huntress receded a little to let Valerie be openly concerned.

“I know we can’t go anywhere, not in this weather and not with _him_ around but… how bad is it? And don’t lie to me, Fenton. I’ve had enough of that, and I don’t… don’t want to…” she trailed off, looking lost and confused and _terrified._ Not of Plasmius, Danny thought. Of him and having to watch him die.

“Val,” he murmured, putting his hand back on Val’s knee. “I wasn’t lying when I said I heal fast. As long as I don’t do anything especially stupid, I’ll be fine in a few hours. As to the why… I’ll get to that. Vlad first.”

* * *

Danny shifted on the couch. Valerie didn’t like how he was looking at _all._ Pale (maybe pal _er_ was more apt), coughing, barely able to move. She could only shunt the fear to the side for so long to get her answers. And he’d certainly left her in need of those.

Half dead, full of other people’s secrets, and he didn’t get all those scars she’d seen while she was treating him (frantically, only stopping herself from completely freaking out because it would have gotten in the way of stemming the flow of all that blood) playing _video games_. How had she missed all this? How had _everyone_? What kind of life was Danny leading that he got into, from what he’d said, _regular fights_ with Vlad Plasmius?

She wished more than anything they could get him to a hospital. It’d put her mind at ease at least, because she was _not_ convinced her first aid training and rather more practically learned field dressings were enough for this, but it wasn’t an option. Not with who Plasmius was.

“I found out almost a year ago,” he began, quietly. “At my parents college reunion. He showed himself to me because… Well, nothing held back but not everything in order.”

Danny’s chest heaved as he took another wracking cough. Valerie jolted forward reflexively, her eyes darting over the bandages, making sure they were still secure and not soaking through. They… probably should have by now.

Hm.

“He’s _insane_ ,” Danny insisted. “Actually, genuinely mad. He’s obsessed with my mom, wants her for himself, and wanted me as son and successor. And he wasn’t shy in wanting my dad dead so he could get that. So, I… I fought him. Lost, horribly, but I forced a stalemate.”

“How?” Valerie asked, curiosity rising. God, this whole situation was going to kill her along with him. Every time worry took over, every time something happened that reminded her how close to dead he had been and still was, no matter what he claimed, he said something _beyond_ impossible that left her tilting back towards a _need_ to know. The ups and downs were hell.

“I, uh, said I’d tell my mom.”

And _now_ she wanted to laugh. “Seriously?”

Danny had a faint smirk on his face at her reaction. “Seriously. Works every time.”

He grimaced and shifted again. She darted around trying to find something she could get him to make him more comfortable before she caught herself. Middle of the secret spilling was a _bad_ time for the Florence Nightingale effect to kick in.

“Since then… We’ve fought back and forth. He tried something horrible, usually in aid of killing my dad or getting me as an apprentice, I do my best to stop him. Did better than I should have, really. It was a… status quo.”

OK, fine, she’ll take the bait. “What changed?”

He smiled, and there was _nothing_ weak about this one. The kind of smile he reserved for the people who made him happiest.

“Dani.”

“Oh, great, you’re delirious. Last thing we need.”

“With an I.”

Valerie froze.

“Danielle? _You_ found her?” She whispered, and her heart nearly leapt out of her chest when he nodded. “How is she? Is she alright?!”

He nodded. “She’s fine. She didn’t have anywhere to go, and I couldn’t leave her. I offered to take her in. But it would mean telling my parents _everything._ Who she was, where she came from, why she can do what she can do…”

“… What do you mean where she came from?” For some reason, this one stuck out at her. She thought she knew the answer, but this entire scenario just proved she didn’t have half as many answers as she thought.

“Think about it, Val – who does she look like when she’s human?”

Black hair. Blue eyes. Pale skin.

Vlad made her. Vlad wanted Danny as a successor. Danny kept fighting him on that.

The pieces slotted together neatly, if completely insanely. God, what was her life – _their_ lives, as she was becoming aware – that this _made sense_?

“No way…” She breathed.

“Toldja Vlad was a fruitloop,” Danny chuckled. “I wouldn’t do what he wanted, so why not make a me who would?”

“He… He _cloned_ you, threw her out, then tried to kill her?!” This felt like safer ground than all the fear and confusion and worry. Absolute, all consuming rage was much more familiar. “I’m gonna _kill him_ with his _own guns_! _ARGH_!”

“Give me a few hours and I’ll hand you the ammo,” Danny replied grimly. “So, I… I told them. My parents, I mean. It was terrifying, the scariest thing I’ve ever done. Had, like, three escape routes planned if I needed it, but… I didn’t. It was a lot to take in for them, but watching my dad pick up Danielle and hug her like she was… like the family she _is_ was worth it.”

“She’s safe?”

Danny grimaced again. “Well. With Vlad around and immensely pissed, safe for her is relative. But she’s in Fenton Works, surrounded by defences, weapons and my family, plus everything she can do herself. She’s as safe as she can be.”

She watched his expression turn to pain as he remembered. “Vlad found out. That she was there, that I’d told my parents everything about him. And I think… You’ve got to understand, he could already see he wasn’t going to get what he wanted. My mom hated him _before_ this, I was _never_ going to look at him as anything other than a psychopath, neither was Jazz, and he _knew_ that. It’s why he tried cloning me at all.”

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Valerie noticed he was getting motion back more rapidly than she thought he should – the movement looked much less strained than it had not five minutes ago. He wasn’t kidding about healing quick. _Unnaturally_ quick.

“And then he finds out that not only have we taken in someone he regarded as a mistake with almost no hesitation, but they know everything about him and what he’s done. I think that might have… pushed him over the edge. Hence…”

He gestured down at his chest and its various wounds.

“God, he’s more of a psycho than I thought…” Valerie muttered. “How can he justify himself, doing this to good people?! Screw this!”

She shot to her feet, allowing the armour to form over herself. What she intended to do, she didn’t know, beyond find Masters and throttle him. It was just all so much _worse_ than she thought. She thought he was just a manipulative scumbag, looking to beat Phantom for control of the town or some such ghostly nonsense. This? This was so much more personal and _inhuman._ She _had_ to stop him.

“Val, _don’t._ ”

Valerie turned slowly, facing the boy who’d spoken with more vehemence and strength than he’d yet managed.

“You can’t fight him alone. Even if you find him in all that,” he gestured out the window, where the snow was falling so thick and fast it looked like TV static, “you won’t win.”

“How do you know that?” She snapped. She _itched_ to go on the hunt. He _needed_ to be stopped, finding Phantom be damned. It was more urgent than she’d realised. The Fentons were in imminent danger. And she would _not_ let him kill Danny. She’d die herself first. She owed him that much.

“Because I can’t, and you struggle fighting me.”

“… What?”

Danny leaned back down, his eyes closed and as weary as he’d ever seemed. Valerie stomped over to the couch, retracting her helmet, looking down at the boy she still cared for, even if she couldn’t admit it (or could she, now it was all out?). The boy who said he’d _fought_ her.

“How… how could I _not_ know you were the Red Huntress?” He whispered, and she could see tears form at the corner of his eyes. “When every time you see me, you’d scream at me for ruining your life? Of being a danger to everyone? How was I supposed to pretend you were anyone else under that mask?”

“I-I don’t understand. Danny, what are you- “

“Val, I kinda need you to follow along with me a little here,” he interrupted, pained. “Dani’s my clone. Who does she look like when she transforms? Vlad got his ghost half in a portal accident in college. What happened to me at the beginning of freshman year? You got into this whole gig because ghosts got your dad fired. _Who else have you fought because they helped wreck your life?!_ ”

She fell back into the chair again, staring at Danny. He couldn’t mean it. He _couldn’t._ If he did, then she’d been… this whole time, whenever she’d been roaring and fighting and trying to kill Phantom, then she’d been hurting…

“Phantom?” The question came out deadly quiet, laced with so much fear and horror. He couldn’t mean it, he _couldn’t,_ because she could never forgive herself of all the times she’d hurt him if it was-

His eyes opened, and for a brief moment acid green flared from them. In that instant she _saw_ him, the other side of him, the white hair, the jumpsuit, the stupid quips she’d never admit to finding funny, all of it. It was all him.

It always had been.

“No,” she breathed. “No, no, no, no…”

He closed his eyes again. “Hi, Val,” he muttered, resignation all across his features. “You’re never going to get a better chance. Shout, scream, hurt me all you want. I won’t fight back. I deserve- “

Valerie cut him off, throwing her arms around his shoulders as carefully as she could, burying her face in the crook of his neck as hot tears poured down from her.

“I’m sorry, I'm so, _so_ _sorry,”_ she sobbed as she felt him grunt in surprise before bringing his own arms gingerly around her.

“I am too,” he whispered back, holding her close as the wind howled like a hungry wolf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been reminded of the Evangelion remakes when it comes to chapter titles, sue me.
> 
> Longer than I wanted, but eh, it works. Had hit some writers block on Fire And Ice, but that's cleared up, so something of that will go up soonish.


	3. (Can't) Hide Forever

People didn’t fear ghosts.

Oh, they did _eventually_. Once a few objects had been melted, or they found themselves embedded in a wall with a leering ectoplasmic being standing over them. Once you’d done enough to prove you were one and done more than the stories said they could. But there was the problem, wasn’t it? Stories.

They’re creepy, they’re unsettling, but they’re not conceptually all that frightening anymore. And that was a problem if you wanted to be feared, if you wanted intimidation right from the off.

Whenever anyone thinks of ghosts, they think little white bedsheets going ‘boo’. They think objects moving around at random, doors slamming unexpectedly, people appearing in mirrors and screaming, things like that. At the worst, you get horror fans who, although believing in the scarier parts of ghost lore like possession or total control of their haunt somewhere deep down, nevertheless think they’re not an immediate, right-this-second threat. They’re an _escalating_ one.

However, there is one monster humans have invented that everyone always fears when confronted with, Vlad Masters had discovered, the apex predator we invented for ourselves.

People always cowered when confronted with a vampire.

So, he’d styled himself after one, once he’d acquired the necessary expertise to do so. Once he had, he found intimidating his business rivals a much easier prospect. No more did he have to haunt the same the same intensely boring executive for three days straight before they got the message. He just had to bare his fangs and make a veiled reference to thirst and they’d capitulate to whatever his demands were. And if they told anyone that Vlad Masters had a vampire on payroll? Well, he still gifted the absolute best hampers to the asylums he had them sent to.

Simpler times. Far simpler than having to track down his quarry in a blizzard.

He never expected his ghost form to camouflage anywhere effectively, it was never intended to, but Vlad would admit it would be difficult to see him in this snowfall. Irritatingly, it meant the little badger was also quite hard to find. The boy was always more resourceful than he’d given him credit for – it had been hours since Daniel had used his last burst of power to escape the end, and only now did Vlad believe he was near, based on nothing but instinct.

He’d assumed the entire time that he was more like his father – stupid, brutish, getting by on pure luck. Vlad should have known his Maddie’s superior genes would triumph. Daniel played the game between them behind a front of clumsiness and immaturity, and he _was_ a novice to this kind of shadow war, but he always played his hand better than Vlad ever suspected he was capable.

In his successor, it would be laudable. In an enemy, and Daniel had been quite clear that that was what he was, it was another reason to crush him.

He could understand the little badgers logic in accepting the mistake into his household – he himself was perhaps the only true counter to Vlad in an out and out fight, and having an expendable foot soldier of similar quality in his debt was a useful ace. Alas, he’d made the error of removing his opponents only restraint – the ignorance of that oaf Fenton and his own, dearest Madeline.

Ah, well. Once he was done dispensing with Daniel and the rest of his insipid family, he’d have to hope Maddie wasn’t _too_ broken by the various personality rewrites he would have to implement.

His nostrils flared. Aha. There we are. Hidden from sight by the snow, buried under ice, but just as Daniel had his own talents, Vlad has his. And he could smell it on the frigid air.

There were reasons other than intimidation to imitate a vampire.

Blood. Blood and ectoplasm, drifting through the wind.

Enjoy your last few precious minutes of life, little badger.

* * *

Valerie had lost track of time a while ago. Emotional breakdowns had that effect.

She didn’t know how long she had sat there with Danny, alternating between bouts of apology and endless, fascinating _questions._ There was far more to the Ghost Zone, its inhabitants and just _everything_ ghostly that the _experts_ had never cottoned on to. She could see how the Fenton’s could get so wrapped up in this, it was incredible. Although she was quite relieved to learn…

“I mean, no, ghosts aren’t inherently evil, but most of the ones who decide to come through and cause trouble are, to quote Shakespeare, _jackasses_ , so tracking them down and putting a stop to them is the right thing to do,” Danny reassured her. “But man, Valerie, I’ve _got_ to take you to meet some of my allies in the Zone. The yetis of the Far Frozen are great, I’ve picked up a lot from them. And _Pandora!_ You’d _love_ Pandora! She’s got four arms and kicks all kinds of ass!”

“Wait, as in Pandora’s Box?” Valerie asked, incredulously. “The Greek myth? She’s real?!”

“Eh. Yes and no,” Danny shook his head from side to side – she noted he was doing that a lot more freely now. Ghostly healing, no surprise no one ever noticed his own night activities if it worked this quick on injuries that horrible. She had to be _so_ careful to avoid visible wounds. “She has the box, so I think they’re supposed to be the same person, but if you ever bring it up, she just goes into an angry rant that spills into another language. Plus side, I know how to say ‘that useless swine Hesiod’ in Greek now.”

Valerie burst out laughing, Danny not far behind.

God, how long had it been since she’d just been able to sit back and talk this freely with _anyone_. Her dad was never comfortable hearing about the ghost hunting side of things, and as close as Valerie had come to telling her about the Red Huntress, Star didn’t know. But then, she and Danny were alike in that sense, weren’t they? Only a few people they could _really_ talk to. Maybe that’s why they’d clicked the way they had.

Danny had been right, earlier, when he was trying to console her: keeping secrets from people you care about is the absolute worst. She promised herself, assuming she and Danny got out of here without being murdered by Plasmius, she’d tell Star.

A companionable silence fell as the laughter trailed off. She prodded Danny in the arm. “You feel any better?”

In response he raised his hand and frowned, concentrating. His arm seemed to shimmer before vanishing entirely, along with the rest of his body. Valerie let out a startled noise, and Danny shimmered back into existence with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I was trying to just do my arm. I… shouldn’t have been able to, really.”

Valerie tilted her head. “Why not? I figured if the healing was kicking in, everything else should be as well.”

“’Cause the thing Vlad hit me with, the Plasmius Maximus,” he paused to grin at her reaction to the name. “Don’t even get me started. It’s supposed to completely negate my powers for three hours. He gloated he’d got it up to five before I got away. I still can’t transform, but I should have another hour or so of not being able to use my ghost powers at all. The healing shouldn’t be working either.”

“… He’s used this before?”

“Oh yeah, got hit with it and then hunted by his own pack of ghost animals through a forest,” Danny replied nonchalantly, like this was an everyday occurrence, before he caught Valerie’s own down turning expression. “Hey, no, don’t you- “

“No, Danny!” Valerie interrupted angrily. “You’ve been through so _much_ already _,_ you didn’t deserve to have _me_ piling more of that on top of you night after night! How are you _OK_ with this?!”

This wasn’t her first outburst. Occasionally in the course of the question and answer session they had going, clarifying their lives, Valerie would hear _something_ , something that had happened to him when all he’d had for backup was Tucker and Sam and sometimes Jazz, and the guilt would just come crashing down on her all over again. Her mind kept flashing to all the on-target shots on the illusive Phantom she’d made, any pride turning to dread and shame.

“I could ask you the same!” Danny retorted, still smiling faintly. _Infuriatingly_. Let her be sorry, you insufferably kind jerk! “Did I not still ruin your life? Shouldn’t I be apologising to you?”

“No, you _idiot!_ ” She shouted in frustration. “Even if you did that on purpose, which you _didn’t,_ it doesn’t compare to me trying to actually _kill you!_ What is wrong with you, you should hate me! _”_

“I’ve never had so many insults from someone trying to be contrite,” Danny quipped, his grin full force now. Why wouldn’t he take this _seriously?!_

He seemed to hear her unvoiced plea, because his face turned more solemn. “Val, I _never_ blamed you. Not once. You had your world rocked and needed someone to take it out on, I just happened to be there. I get it. If I blame anyone, it’s Vlad. He found out how you felt, handed you an arsenal and then kept feeding you lies to get you to keep going after me. You just did what you thought was right with what you knew.”

“Why- “

“You fought Plasmius to save my sister. That’s how I know you were trying to do the right thing.”

Valerie didn’t respond, looking away from his face to the side. This would be so much easier if he would blame her, though. Shout, scream, do something, _anything._ She deserved it for all she’d done. That he’d said he felt the same way was an irony not lost on her.

Instead he took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She looked from it to him, sat up on the couch now and smiling softly at her.

God, he was cute.

That reminded her.

“Why… why did you date me?” She asked in a quiet voice. “You knew who I was. You must have known if I found out I might have… might have…”

She couldn’t finish, but Danny knew where it was going. He blushed, and looked to the side, staying silent. But not letting go of her hand, she noticed.

“Because…” he started, before shrugging. “I liked you, you liked me. Isn’t it supposed to be that simple?”

Valerie stared at him incredulously. There was no way he was _this_ sweet. It was a trick.

“… What’s with the past tense, Fenton?” She teased, turning her palm up to grasp his hand back. He stammered and blushed and smiled.

And then he gasped, and blue vapour escaped his mouth. His eyes turned fearful and his voice dropped to a whisper.

“He’s here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing from Vlad's perspective felt so _greasy _, I did not like it.__


	4. (No. Not) Surprised

Why _had_ he had this housing development shut down, a background corner of Vlad’s mind wondered idly as he stalked the halls. It had clearly been quite far along before it had been shuttered. There must have been some reason, it didn’t do to antagonise the locals too much without cause. He paused and took a deep breath. The scent of ectoplasm infused blood was stronger here. He was close to either a corpse or the satisfaction of the kill. Oh, he did hope it was the latter. As much as he did relish the image of Daniel dying alone in an abandoned building, it would be so much more fitting for him to meet his end by Vlad’s blood-soaked fist.

Or perhaps he would simply injure him too badly to continue and watch him die slowly. That had a certain appeal.

He passed through another untouched apartment, taking note of the sparse furnishings and the curious, dead device in the ceiling. Ah yes, that had been why – Spectra had enmeshed herself in the development somehow and intended to use those devices to extract misery. She knew the terms for schemes such as this. They go through him and he gets a percentage if there’s one to be had, otherwise she faces the consequences. She could count it a mark of his respect that merely shutting the building down and administering a beating was all he did. They really ought to collaborate more often. Perhaps he could use her expertise to help in breaking Maddie once this was all over.

There was something different about this one, Vlad could tell immediately. The smell of blood was overpowering, and the furniture had been moved around. Daniel had set himself up here at some point recently, the couch was stained a deep red. But… curious. There were some remnants of gauze on the armchair.

Now where had he gotten his hands on medical supplies? Had the boy been even smarter than he’d thought, and set up caches around Amity in the event of something like this? It was the only thing he could think of. He’d made sure to destroy his phone in their initial confrontation, so allies were unlikely. This would be the perfect place for a safehouse also.

Better and better, Vlad thought. He was almost regretting the necessity of murdering him, he had not only displayed a prescience and forethought entirely lacking in his buffoon of a father, but Daniel had managed to keep such things hidden from _Vlad_. Ah well, such is life. Or death, in this case.

But in any case, he had left here. Where are you _now,_ little badger?

* * *

_Five minutes earlier…_

“Plasmius? Now?!” Valerie demanded. Danny nodded, and Valerie let his hand go as the nanotech suit flowed over her, before clenching her fists and popping the wrist cannons. “Good. You get out of here, get back to Fenton Works. I’ve gotta give my old boss my resignation.”

“Valerie, _no,”_ Danny said firmly, placing a hand on her arm to stop her. “I’m not going to let you throw your life away just to give me a head start. We should both get out of here, let him search an empty building.”

“Except you can’t move quickly enough and my board isn’t all that subtle!” Valerie fired back, pulling his hand off her. “If he’s already here, he’ll find us easy if we both try to run. I can hold him off long enough for you to get away. Bring your family, bring Dani, heck, bring Sam and Tucker if you want, but you get backup and you get your powers back! I can handle myself!”

“Val…” Danny sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Do me a favour and pull up your suits file on Vlad. Trust me.”

Valerie eyed the boy warily but called up the file anyway.

Or tried to.

“Wait… There’s nothing here! How?”

“That suit was built by Technus, right? Who did you have look it over to make sure he didn’t leave anything nasty in there?” Danny asked, raising an eyebrow to punctuate his question.

“… Oh.”

She remembered. The day after she’d gotten it, she’d gone to Masters about the new suit. He’d been surprised at the ghostly technology and had insisted on a full diagnostic and analysis when she’d explained where it had come from. It had been nearly a week of daily scans and tinkering with computers before he’d let her go out on patrol again, radiating concern for her should the tech ghost have built traps into it. She’d been grateful, especially when he’d later claimed to have removed all the malicious programming and functions. The care he’d shown his _pawn_ had been touching, at the time. Now it just felt sickening.

Forgetting about that was _sloppy._

“He’ll have backdoors into your suits systems, set it up to erase himself from files whenever you encounter him as Plasmius,” Danny opined. “He probably didn’t bring what he’d need to mess with it more directly, but I am _not_ leaving you alone to find out!”

_Damn this cute boy and his logic,_ she thought as she ran through the scenario in her head. He hadn’t pulled any tricks with the suit the last time they’d fought, but she realised that was likely in aid of keeping his identity from her. But if he was planning on simply murdering Danny now, maintaining her ignorance was a lesser priority. If he _had_ exploits built into her system and the means to use them on his person, he would. That was going to have to be fixed if they survived.

It was still a difficult concept for her to wrap her head around, though. That Danny, sweet, kind, utterly harmless _Danny_ been doing this longer than she had, and against _Plasmius_ specifically. Pride can take a backseat to his advice and experience, that was the plan anyway, wasn’t it, Gray?

“Fine,” she muttered, resigned. “If running’s out and me fighting him for you to escape is too risky, then what? Hide and hope he goes away?”

“We can’t hide all this…” He muttered, gesturing to the bloodstained couch and disturbed dust. Danny scratched the back of his head, brow furrowed in concentration, eyes darting all around as he thought. “Hm. You got any emergency weapons in your bag?” He asked, pointing to the orange backpack lying next to the armchair.

“Just a couple of ectopistols,” she shrugged. “Nothing too powerful, but they’ll hurt.”

Danny nodded. “That’ll do. He won’t know I’ve got that, and he won’t know the latest version of the Maximus is, well,” he raised a hand, acid green energy flaring into life around it. “ _Patchy._ Those should be the aces we need.”

“You want to _fight_ him?” She questioned, disbelievingly. “Danny, Plasmius nearly _killed you!_ And you had all your powers then!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t have _you._ He’s not gonna know what hit him,” he grinned, his eyes sharp and determined. She couldn’t help but return the grin. Somehow, he made her feel like they had a chance. That against all the odds, they could do it, together.

“… Screw it,” she shrugged. “I’m guessing I’m the heavy hitter?”

“When aren’t you?” He smiled. “Here’s the plan.”

* * *

The boiler room. Of course, the best place for a safehouse here. Should anyone have cause to search the complex, they’d check the apartments before they’d check anywhere else. Ample space to hide a cache of supplies should you need it. No escape, not an easy one anyway, but that didn’t matter so much when you had abilities like Vlad and Daniel, now did it?

The smell of blood was fainter here, too. The trail wasn’t _gone,_ it was just overpowered by the oil and metal. Almost certainly not Daniel’s intent, he had been careful to hide some of his less flashy but nevertheless useful powers from him. No mistaking it, though, he was here.

“Well, well,” Vlad drawled, his voice echoing through the pipes. “What a dismal hole you’ve chosen to die in, little badger.”

No response was forthcoming, but Vlad didn’t expect one. Instead he stalked forward, his upraised hand glowing a sizzling pink. The light cast deep shadows all around, the flickering shadows shifting as the white clad man slowly walked forward, checking every nook and cranny for his elusive prey.

“I must say, I’m impressed with you, Daniel,” he spoke, conversationally. “I didn’t think you had the ability to see five minutes ahead, and yet here you are in a safe house. Very good. Should I assume there are others around the city?”

“… Something like that.”

Getting Daniel to talk was an easy weakness to exploit, but it did him little good here – the pipes made pinpointing the source of his voice nigh-impossible, even with his enhanced senses.

“Something like that,” Vlad repeated. “Ah, such potential, wasted. Come out, little badger. There’s only so long you can protect your king when you’ve no pieces left.”

“You know what, Vlad? I agree!”

Vlad whipped his head around as he caught movement to his right, just in time to see Danny emerge, bandages wrapped tight around his chest and an ectopistol clutched in his right fist. The bulky gun discharged with a high-pitched shriek, projectiles of crimson energy impacting hard into the elder ghosts’ shoulders. Vlad gritted his teeth and hissed, before surging forward, ducking underneath any further fire.

He reached out a hand and slapped the gun away, before the other grasped at Danny’s throat, lifting him high off the ground. The boy spluttered and choked, his now free right hand trying to prise his hand off. His left seemed pinned to the side, stiff and unmoving. Muscle damage, perhaps.

Weapons as well? That is a bridge too far. Who knows what else the boy could have prepared? No, he dies swiftly, which he can consider a mercy. Before that, however…

“Any last words, boy?” Vlad sneered, loosening his grip enough to allow him breathing room.

“Yeah,” he gasped. “You’re not as good at chess as you think you are.”

… Well, this was a novel line. “Do elaborate. I suppose one last piece of idiocy to offset the intelligent moves you’ve made is fitting.”

“It’s… it’s the pawns,” Danny continued, around a mild coughing fit. “You’re always going on about how pawns are easily manipulated, disposable, just worthless in general. I think you’ve forgotten what else they can do.”

“Oh? What would that be?”

The boy smirked triumphantly, and his left hand suddenly splayed open, releasing something from its grip. Too late, Vlad noticed the faint whine of power, of _danger_ , as the air shimmered and the Red Huntress became visible, wrist cannon pointed directly in his face.

“They become _queens,_ ” Valerie snarled.

Vlad had only half a second to react before the cannon detonated, and all his world was overcome by red light and _pain._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greasy, greasy, _oh so greasy _. At least he gets shot.__
> 
> _  
> _Confession time, this whole thing came about because I thought up that pawn exchange and instantly thought Valerie.__  
> 


	5. You Are (Not) Alone

Danny really, really hoped Val’s armour had recording capabilities, because he wanted to replay that look on Vlad’s face before he got shot over and over.

The vampiric half-ghost howled in agony as the wrist cannon discharged and he tumbled sideways, crashing hard against a set of pipes. He raised he head to glare at the newly revealed Huntress and Danny winced, a little – a point blank cannon shot dealt one side of Vlad’s face some serious burns, ectoplasm leaking and dripping across a ruined jaw.

Not that Valerie was going to stop there, of course.

Even as Vlad was blown backwards, she dashed forward and bounded onto some of the overhanging pipes, leaping off them before reaching out with a fist, red energy glowing around it. The flying punch impacted hard onto their enemy’s nose as she roared in rage, Vlad’s head snapping back, before she pointed both her wrists at his chest and fired again.

The force of it cracked the pipes he was up against and he was propelled away from her once again, rolling to a crouch some distance away, spitting up blood and ectoplasm.

Danny, meanwhile, had watched the display dumbfounded, only one thought running through his head.

_Oh, man, that is hot!_

He shook himself as Vlad snarled and raised a glowing pink fist to fire ectobeams at the Huntress, who ducked and dodged around them. Danny scrabbled on the floor before grabbing the blaster again, discarded where Vlad had dropped it. The motion caught the half-ghost’s attention, who sneered at him.

“Still prolonging the inevitable, little badger? You must know you- “

He was swiftly interrupted when Danny raised the gun and fired, the crimson bolts peppering Vlad and the area around him.

“Sorry, what was that, fruitloop? I didn’t hear you over the sound of us kicking your ass!”

Vlad shouted in frustration and blasted Valerie’s cover, knocking the Huntress to the ground. He kicked off the floor hard, flying fast at Danny, murder in his monochromatic eyes. The younger half ghost let one hand go from the pistol, acid green energy engulfing his fist. The instant Vlad got into range, he swung the fist around, crashing into the side of his face and staggering Vlad from his flight.

That was much stronger than it should have been. Danny smirked. Not long, now.

The smirk dropped as Vlad rose before him. Ah. Yes. Not _long,_ but not _now._

The white clad man flung his fist out, backhanded the youth across the jaw. Danny fell back with a cry of pain.

“Impudent _child!_ ”

“Why is that always a surprise to you?” Danny snarked, pointing the pistol again only to have it yanked from his grasp. The weapon sparked a furious red as Vlad’s hand closed and crushed it in a single motion, smiling down at the defenceless Danny.

“Now…” Vlad intoned. “Where was I when we last- “

“ _LEAVE HIM ALONE!_ ”

Vlad’s head jerked around in time to catch the Red Huntress’ red and black form barrelling towards him, shoulder ramming into his ribs hard. He stumbled enough that Valerie’s following front kick to his midsection pushed him further back, but he seemed more annoyed than hurt.

“Would you two let me finish a sen- “

“SHUT UP!” She screamed, three metallic cubes winking into existence behind her and opening fire indiscriminately, tiny red energy spheres blooming all around as Vlad turned translucent and fled through the pipes. The Huntress directed the drones to follow the half ghost, before giving Danny a brief look of concern through the helmet. His only response was to smile cheekily and give her a thumbs up. She nodded and followed her drones, leaping and weaving through pipes with expertise – she would _so_ have to teach him that if they got out of here.

Danny watched her go, then poked at his chest. The wounds hadn’t reopened, thankfully, but _ow,_ landing on them had hurt more than getting backhanded by Vlad. He thanked whatever deity was involved (Clockwork? He’d go with Clockwork, he’s close enough) that adrenaline wasn’t much affected by being a half ghost, it was probably the only reason he wasn’t a screaming mess right now.

He furrowed his brow and focused hard. He was so, _so_ close, and Valerie was going to need better help than he can provide like this, as funny as it was to deck Vlad in the face as Danny Fenton.

His midsection sparked, bright white light flaring into existence briefly before fizzling out. Danny smirked, before hauling himself to his feet and following the other two.

* * *

_Finally,_ Valerie thought. _Familiar territory._

She didn’t want to show it, didn’t want to admit it in front of Danny, but she’d be floundering these last few hours. _Everything_ she thought she’d known about ghosts was completely wrong, everything about Phantom was turned on its head, and she’d badly assessed the true situation in Amity Park and with Danny. It was going to take a while to process properly and sort out, in particular reconciling all the feelings she had for Danny with both her more mercurial opinion of Phantom and the guilt of hunting him, now that the two were enmeshed in her mind.

But this? She was hunting down a malicious _monster_ of a ghost to protect someone in need of protecting. This is what she was _made_ for, she felt it in her bones. This felt more right than anything else ever had, save helping Dani.

If only there were room in her to fly. She could fight so much better in the air.

The swish of his cape gave him away, around the corner. She directed her drones to follow and blast him at the first opportunity. The boiler room was quite large for a building of this size, but it wasn’t so big that Plasmius could hide for long.

The camera on one of her drones flickered to life in her helmet, the stark white figure of the ghost she was hunting coming into focus. She smirked to herself as her drones opened fire, even if she was a little disappointed. She wanted the chance to stop him personally, but her she’d take her little cubes doing the job for her.

Until the ghost they were firing at simply popped out of existence, like a balloon.

“What the- “

“Misdirection, my dear,” a voice gloated behind her.

She spun on the spot to see a black gloved fist smash hard into her helmet. She staggered under the force of it, raising her arm to fire a few blasts from her wrist cannon to no real effect, the ghost dodging around them before sinking another punch into her midsection. Valerie dropped hard, the wind knocked from her lungs as Plasmius picked her up and slammed her hard into the pipes.

“Oh, such a valiant effort, so wasted on someone who doesn’t deserve your kindness,” Vlad leered, leaning his head forward until it was nearly pressed up against the helmets visor, the jaw burns leaking green-tinged blood. “Tell me, _Huntress_ , has Fenton told you _why_ he’s here? Who he is? I’ll wager not. I’ll bet he kept his own nightly adventures from you. Did you think you could trust him, the sweet, meek Fenton boy? He clearly couldn’t trust _you_ , could he? What else hasn’t he told you?”

“He told me enough!” Valerie spat. “I don’t know him like I thought I did, but that just means I can get to know him all over again! And at least I know he’s a better person than you, _Mr. Mayor.”_

That did it. Vlad’s eyes widened just a fraction from surprise, his grip slackening just enough. Valerie rammed her head forward, her helmet colliding with his nose to Vlad’s pained grunt as she ripped her arms free. Before she could do as instinct commanded and blast him as many times as it took to reduce to him to a pile of ectoplasm, a black gloved hand made it’s way to her throat and squeezed, the other hand pulled back for the finishing blow.

“A shame, Ms. Gray, but it seems I shall have to terminate your employment,” he sneered, the fist flying forward. Valerie shut her eyes instinctively.

Instead of pain, however, she heard a dull boom, as if heavy objects collided with each other. Valerie felt the hand leave her throat and she opened her eyes.

Standing in front her was Danny, Vlad’s fist caught in his palm. But it wasn’t just Danny, somehow. He was almost _glowing_ , pulsing white light seeming to shine forth from his skin. And for the first time even since she’d arrived and blown half his face off, Vlad looked _worried._

“Time’s up, fruitloop,” Danny growled. “ _Going ghost!”_

The light fled from his skin and coalesced around his waist, flaring outwards to create a ring of light. As the ring expanded, Vlad was flung away, denting pipes with his impact. The ring of light split and swept up and down Danny, and wherever it passed, it left him _changed._

It was one thing to know on an intellectual level that Danny and Phantom were one and the same, and another to _see_ it, see the boy she cared about gone, and standing in his place the ghost in his white and black jump suit, the object of so much of her _obsession_ with revenge against ectoplasmic entities. For a moment, the urge to raise her fists and blast him was nearly overpowering.

Then he turned to face her, and he had _such_ a Danny smile on his face that the impulse fled her entirely. How could she harm him, when he looked at her like that?

Never again.

“Well, then, Val,” he said, voice echoing lightly. “Shall we show Plasmius here what happens when you mess with the best ghost hunters in town?”

“ _Let’s,_ ” she grinned, savagely.

* * *

The blizzard raged on, entirely heedless of the exploding wall of the abandoned apartment complex.

Danny dove through the falling debris and flung the heavy weight of his nemesis from his shoulder, landing in the crisp white snow as Vlad rolled, springing to his feet almost instantly and launching pink beams at the black and white boy. They bounced off the instantly erected dome shield, and the scream of an engine heralded the arrival of the Red Huntress on the back of her board, her blasters singing as they melted the snow around Plasmius, the last couple hitting home on the ghostly villain.

Vlad screamed in rage, taking flight to aim at the floating hunter, only to be met by a white clad fist rising from the ground and striking him in his face wounds. He grabbed the hand and swung, hurling the town hero to the earth, sending a blast after him that was narrowly avoided. Before he could fire a second, the cube drones of the Huntress smashed into his face, one after another, followed by the flying fist of the Huntress herself.

He tumbled from the sky, stopping himself before he hit the ground, glaring with venomous hatred at the ghost hunting pair before him, standing ready for him, the pair he couldn’t seem to find a way past.

“I am _Vlad Plasmius!_ ” The elder halfa roared. “I will _not_ be defeated by two witless children! I have beaten you both before, and I’ll do it again!”

“Wrong, fruitloop,” Danny shouted back. “You’ve beaten _one_ of us!”

“But you can’t beat _both_ of us!” Valerie joined, her cube drones arraying behind her as she raised her hands to fire.

Vlad’s eyes flicked between her and Danny, himself standing with fists ignited, determination writ across both their faces. And for the first time in years, in all the time he’d been a half ghost, Vlad felt… _uncertain._

The cunning strategist knows when to retreat, he supposed.

With a last snarl, Vlad took to the skies away from Phantom and the Red Huntress, disappearing swiftly into the storm. Danny and Valerie relaxed imperceptibly. Danny inclined his head towards the floating Huntress.

“Is he actually gone, Val, or is this a trick?” Danny asked from the corner of his mouth.

“Radar says you’re the only ghost left around,” Valerie said, not putting her hands down.

“Oh. Good. Then in that case,” Danny stated, before collapsing backwards into the snow. “Sweet zombie Jesus, my _everything_ hurts.”

Valerie turned her helmet to look at the boy lying in the snow, panting and wincing slightly as he placed his hands over his chest and clutched. It would be easy, wouldn’t it? To pull her thermos and catch him, to blast him into oblivion, to finally enact the revenge she’d wanted for so long.

It would be easy. And she’d never do it, not now. She couldn’t.

Instead, she retracted the board into her suit, and dropped alongside him, retracting her helmet as she did so and allowing her hair to spring forth onto the snow.

They remained there in silence for some minutes, watching the snow fall above them, shoulders nearly touching as they inched closer to one another unconsciously.

“So…” Danny said, breaking the silence and turning his head towards her. “Partners?”

Valerie hesitated. Could they, this soon? She’d barely had time to come to terms with everything she’d learned today alone, never mind unpacking and picking apart all her preconceptions and entrenched ideas about ghosts and Phantom in particular. And there was a part of her that insisted on adding ‘in this and other things’ to the end of his question… and found it liked the notion.

Perhaps the answer was what she’d told Vlad earlier. She had the chance to get to know him all over again. The rest would come if it was meant to.

So she smiled. “Buy me dinner first, Space Ghost,” she snarked, and shoved his shoulder with her hand, before dropping it conspicuously close to his own.

He didn’t miss the hint. “Whatever you say, Artemis,” he replied, grinning, his hand closing over hers, fingers wrapping around each other as they watched as the storm broke, the stars in the night sky shining down on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, well, that's that done. Rather like Space Ghost and Artemis as their pet names for each other.
> 
> I may follow this up, because clearly Vlad isn't going to stop any time soon and I have a few ideas for how. But until I think of something more concrete, I shall leave it here. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
